Communications strategies, ed tech and aid for trade: For development executives

Devex
By Devex Editor

Participants at the Uchaguzi Kenya Community Meetup discuss Ushahidi's plans for the Kenya 2013 elections. Photo by: Team Ushahidi / CC BY-SA

Whether amplifying the voices of communities around the world or working to provide access to opportunities for underserved communities, organizations must strive to create visibility for their brand and get traction for their messages. In the past month, Devex looked at communication strategy lessons from African NGOs, as well as insights on aid for trade, education technology and organizations working in the Niger Delta. Exclusive for our Executive Members.

African NGOs

Devex spoke to three successful nongovernmental organizations that work in Africa including Ushahidi, a technology platform developed to map the election violence in Kenya. The open source platform has also been adapted to fit different situations where people struggle to gather information — from political protests to natural disasters. Devex’s Jennifer Ehidiamen shares communications strategies that can help your organization. Read about them here: 5 communications strategy lessons from successful African NGOs

Despite the dominance of news that show violence by militant groups, kidnappings and attacks on private companies, the Niger Delta has attracted the attention of the development community. Here's a list of development organizations working in the Niger Delta region — Top development groups in the Niger Delta: A primer

Aid for trade

For donors, aid for trade is a way to contribute to development while also building an international trading framework with emerging markets. However, the community is still grappling with how to balance traditional development goals with the sometimes more limited set of programming linked to trade. Devex’s Lisa Cornish makes sense of aid for trade and what it means for donors, recipients and businesses. Read more about it here: What donors, recipients and businesses want from aid for trade and 7 good news takeaways on future of aid for trade

Education technology

Education technology is a hot topic in the development sector. For NGOs in the field, technology can be a game changer — or a costly failure. To find out what works and what doesn’t, Devex talked to an education and technology policy expert. Read our Q&A here: Ed tech that's working in the poorest countries